Arcifanfano Re dei matti

FOR THE SCHOOLS ONLY

Arcifanfano Re dei matti
Composed by Baldassare Galuppi on a libretto by Carlo Goldoni, under the pseudonym of Polisseno Fegejo, Arcifanfano re dei matti was performed at the Giustinian di San Moisè Theatre in Venice, during the 1750 Carnival. Based on a new edition that reconstructs the missing parts with the contribution of Bepi Morassi (libretto) and Francesco Erle (music), the opera is presented in a new ‘modern’ staging, designed in particular for middle and high schools, and created with the participation of students from the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory and the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice. The goal is to involve and entertain a young audience: through the hilarious and surreal events of Arcifanfano and a bevy of extravagant characters to say the least – in which the protagonist of the madmen proclaims himself sovereign – it shows how Galuppi and Goldoni’s satirical message remains relevant still today and is capable of making us reflect on human and social dynamics.